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Majority of Americans View Online Anonymity as a Lost Cause

Most Americans say it is not possible to use the internet anonymously — but they haven't stopped trying.

A new poll by the Pew Research Center found that 59% of respondents said it's impossible to be completely anonymous online. Nevertheless, 86% said they have taken measures to cover their digital tracks, including clearing cookies and browsing histories, using temporary email addresses and employing encryption in their online communications.

The chart below shows the specific techniques American adults are using in attempt to maintain their privacy.

In addition, nearly 60% of the poll's respondents said Internet users should have the ability to remain anonymous, but about half said they are more likely than not to use their actual identities when posting online.

"Users bounce back and forth between disclosing who they are and remaining anonymous," reads a report on the poll's findings.

Up significantly from previous years, the poll found that about half of respondents are worried about the information available about them online. The groups respondents are most concerned about accessing that information includes "hackers or criminals," "advertisers," "people in their past" and "certain friends."

To produce this data, researchers polled a representative sample of 1,002 adults in the U.S. from July 11 to 13. Read more about the results and research methods here.

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